Gio Reyna back in USMNT squad for first time since Gregg Berhalter feud
Gio Reyna is in Gregg Berhalter’s US squad for the first time since a family feud caused the coach to lose his job for the first five months of this year.
The 20-year midfielder was among 23 players selected on Thursday for exhibition games against Germany on 14 October in Connecticut, and Ghana three days later in Tennessee.
Reyna has not played a first-team match since he sustained a hairline fracture in a bone in his right leg during the Concacaf Nations League semi-final against Canada on 18 June.
A son of former US captain Claudio Reyna and midfielder Danielle Egan, Gio Reyna was limited to a pair of substitute appearances at last year’s World Cup. Berhalter said during a management conference after the tournament that he nearly sent a player home from Qatar for lack of effort during training, remarks Berhalter thought were not going to be made public and clearly were about Reyna.
Reyna’s parents contacted US Soccer about a three-decades-old domestic violence allegation involving Berhalter and the woman who later became his wife. A pair of interim coaches replaced Berhalter and, after a law firm retained by US Soccer determined he did not improperly withhold information when he was hired in 2018, was rehired in June to resume coaching in September.
Captain Tyler Adams will miss the matches because of the recurrence of a hamstring injury that has limited him to one game since 11 March.
Heidenheim midfielder Lennard Maloney could make his US debut. Maloney, who turns 24 on Monday, played for the US under-20 team in 2018 and has also played for Germany’s youth team.
Among those dropped who had been in the team’s last squad are defenders Mark McKenzie and Antonee
Robinson and forward Cade Cowell. Defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was picked after returning from a hamstring injury on Wednesday. He was a secondhalf substitute for Celtic in a 2-1 loss against Lazio in the Champions League.
Just two players selected in the squad play for MLS teams.
The match in Connecticut will mark the debut of Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, who took over in September after Hansi Flick was fired.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest, England), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest, England)
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, Scotland), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven, the Netherlands), DeJuan Jones (New England), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo, Italy), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England), Miles Robinson (Atlanta), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany)
Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional, Brazil), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, Spain), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim, Germany), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Yunus Musah (Milan, Italy), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven, the Netherlands)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, Germany), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg, Germany), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, the Netherlands), Christian Pulisic (Milan, Italy), Tim Weah (Juventus, Italy).